Ecological Differentiation of Combined and Separate Sexes of Wurmbea Dioica (Colchicaceae) in Sympatry
Ecology, 82(9), 2001, pp. 2601±2616 q 2001 by the Ecological Society of America ECOLOGICAL DIFFERENTIATION OF COMBINED AND SEPARATE SEXES OF WURMBEA DIOICA (COLCHICACEAE) IN SYMPATRY ANDREA L. CASE1 AND SPENCER C. H. BARRETT Department of Botany, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3B2 Abstract. The evolution and maintenance of combined vs. separate sexes in ¯owering plants is in¯uenced by both ecological and genetic factors; variation in resources, partic- ularly moisture availability, is thought to play a role in selection for gender dimorphism in some groups. We investigated the density, distribution, biomass allocation, and physi- ology of sympatric monomorphic (cosexual) and dimorphic (female and male) populations of Wurmbea dioica in relation to soil moisture on the Darling Escarpment in southwestern Australia. Populations with monomorphic vs. dimorphic sexual systems segregated into wet vs. dry microsites, respectively, and biomass allocation patterns and physiological traits re¯ected differences in water availability, despite similarities in total ramet biomass between the sexual systems. Unisexuals ¯owered earlier at lower density, and they allocated sig- ni®cantly more biomass below ground to roots and corms than did cosexuals, which al- located more biomass above ground to leaves, stems, and ¯owers. Females, males, and cosexuals produced similar numbers of ¯owers per ramet, but unisexuals produced more ramets than cosexuals, increasing the total number of ¯owers per genet. Contrary to ex- pectation, cosexuals had signi®cantly higher (more positive) leaf carbon isotope ratios and lower leaf nitrogen content than unisexuals, suggesting that cosexuals are more water-use ef®cient and have lower rates of photosynthesis per unit leaf mass despite their occurrence in wetter microsites.
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